Ahmedabad: All those who have not yet fully fathomed the root cause
of the communal carnage in Gujarat that shook whole of India for as
long as three months, feel dumbfounded again while witnessing a sort
of "spiritual terrorism", this time launched allegedly by Dada
(Pandurang Athvale) and his dynastic successor Didi's followers
within Swadhyay Parivar against the dissidents, comprising most of
the Dada's 'old and pioneer' disciples.

Both the groups have filed police complaint at Ahmedabad against each
other alleging threats, violent intrusion, beating up and fear of
murder. Late night's incident on July 27 at Ahmedabad, when a few
dissidents, visitors from Mumbai, were roughed up, beaten and abused
while they were waiting for more supporters to come from North
Gujarat for a meeting.

"This has once again brought out their tactic of spiritual terror and
fascist method commanded from Parivar's present managers from Dada's
official headquarters, Nirmal Niketan at Mumbai," according to a
leading Swadhyay rebel Mahesh Shah, an industrialist, who had to go
underground following a vulgar and violent attack on him and some of
his colleagues. Didi is also now an accused in above police complaint.

A command issued from the headquarters was "Didi and now even Dada
want all members to close their minds and just do what they preach.
No religious song to be sung of anybody else, no worshipping of any
other idol, no attention to any other godly figure than that of Dada.
This is their command," Shah told this writer. He further said that
"so far they have not killed anybody but they certainly want to badly
hurt us and terrorize our families so that we do not raise our voice."

Pandurang Athvale is a Magsaysay and Templeton awards winner carrying
on his Swadhyay bhakti movement since more than 50 years in both
Gujarat and Maharashtra. Hundreds of simple farmers have donated part
of their cultivable land and its all products to Yogeshwar Bhagvan as
per Dada's ordain. One senior former colleague not willing to be
identified, told that Dada himself was now determined to corner all
the wealth and encouraging Didi to spread such a terror. Chronology
of such 'spiritual terror', as related to this writer by several of
those dissidents besides Mahesh Shah, run as follows:

"I have a thousand young chaps similar to LTTE fighters; They would
jump from the tall terrace of Oberoi Hotel here if I command and
would finish anyone without blinking their eyes if I command 'God
would never forgive such traitors'- these words did not come from any
Islamic Jihadi or terrorist but from Jayshree Talvalkar 'Didi,'
adopted daughter (Dada's brother's sibling) as quoted by Chitralekha,
a monthly magazine from Mumbai- July 8.

Following this Ahmedabad based Justice B.J.Diwan resigned and 13
other trustees, including Mahesh Shah, were kicked out from trusts.
Later, Diwan's resignation was rejected by other trustees (Mumbai's
Samkalin Daily- June 25). Diwan told the press that he was shocked to
hear Dada saying that all the trust wealth "belongs to me now."

Following phone threats and mail threats given to Ahmedabad based
Pankaj Trivedi and Mumbai based old colleagues of Dada like Hemraj
Ashar, Ramdas and Jagdish Shah, physical attacks started with beating
up of Dada?s old disciple Satish Jagjivan Rudhani at Rajkot by seven
people last October. Rebels told that Satish was actually close to
Dada and once taken to Japan with him on his trip. Associated for 21
years with Swadhyay Parivar, Satish was beaten up, according to
Rajkot daily Fulchhab and Sanj Samachar, by a gang of 8 Swadhyay
faithfuls from nearby Padadhari town by intruding in his bungalow and
beating him up mercilessly in naked condition in front of his wife by
pulling out the towel while the latter came out from the bathroom
"They were shouting at him 'why did you utter a word against Dada' "

Later in December 2001, Ahmedabad based Pankaj Trivedi received a
most abusive letter of threat to his life. The letter also mentioned
that his wife and daughter would be raped if he ever spoke against
Dada or Didi. Trivedi filed a police complaint against one Bakabhai
Patel.

Mahesh Rawal, a local follower attended a meeting called by the
dissidents on July 26 at Ahmedabad. Next morning, his house was
surrounded by 25 white-sari clad Swadhyay faithful ladies, carrying
placards as 'traitor' and 'turncoat' and spreading terror by shouting
slogans in his neighborhood.

One Devesh Pandit tried to convene a meeting of at his place in
Chicago, USA, and invited around 250 members for that purpose. But a
faithful of Dada Arjun Desai called 700 members commanding them not
to attend Devesh's meeting. Arjun Desai is the ex-president of
Chicago branch.

Indubhai Poptani, a poet based at Porbandar, was told to write a poem
(stuti) on Didi. He refused by saying that how to write it when he
had no devotional feeling for Didi. He received a threat to his life
in front of his wife who suffered a heart attack. She was removed to
a hospital. Popatani's Bhav poems on Dada were quite popular among
vast mass of followers in Saurashtra. Dada had even gifted Rs 10,000
to his kids for 'sweets' on his visit to his house. "May be he
thought this would silence me", Popatani said.

Prof. S.K.Joshi of Jalgaon in Maharashtra was one of the close
associate of Dada for many years. Dada had even once named him as a
'role model' for all other Swadhyay Parivar members. He said "what
actually happened was that I had organized Bhil adivasi farmers to
grow fruit orchards in and around 28 Gnaeshwar Vriksh Mandirs (tree
temple). It gave an income of about Rs 1 crore. Dada did not allow
even rotten fruits to be eaten by Bhil kids. I questioned this
practice and since that time I was hounded with 'spies' watching my
home for eight days in three shifts and later shouting S.K. Murdabad
slogans! I am still living under constant fear. But I am determined
to carry on that noble activity in my own way with cooperation from
at least 200 other followers meeting with me every week. I have found
that both Dada and Didi want nothing else than lots and lots of
income which nobody could question about its use"

Incidentally, Sadhana, an RSS monthly organ in Gujarati, has highly
lauded in a picturesque article Swadhyay Parivar's Vriksha Puja (tree
worship) movement as a Hindu cultural tradition. It has not spoken a
word about what the senior Dada followers now talk about Dada and
Didi. All the four attempts to reach Didi and even Dada for comments
failed.

Some observers see this as a slow but sure attempt of penetration by
RSS Parivar into the millions-strong equally Hindu adherent Swadhyay
Parivar, having fat asset accounts in around 100 trusts and
properties, all over Gujarat and Maharashtra, besides millions of
dollars in London and America. Ex-chief justice of Gujarat High Court
B. J. Diwan, a close former colleague of Dada and member of one of
the trusts, told recently to the Gujarati media that "they have Rs
200 crore in trust accounts and Rs 500 crores in immovable property
account, which is now claimed by Dada himself as his own, and not of
God as he used to tell earlier." Another old colleague says "they may
not have anything less than Rs 1000 crores."

"Perhaps, RSS wants Swadhyay Parivar to support its own communally
surcharged political activities. Actually, Dada had once celebrated
RSS founder Hegdevar's birth anniversary," said another senior Dada
follower. THE END